This apple is medium-small, flattish or rounded with a streaked red skin and a peculiar rusty area where the stalk is. The flesh is juicy, firm, crispy, sweet, pleasantly acidulous and fragrant with an excellent flavour. It can come as no surprise that the Annurca is defined as the "queen of apples" for its many qualities. It is only found in Campania, in fact, it is an authentic and eiwrlasting symbol of regional apple farming and continues to be, now as in the past, its jewel in the crown. It is an ancient variety of apple and can even be recognised in some Pompeiian frescoes at the Casa dei Cervi in Herculaneum.

What makes this apple special, apart from its ancient tradition, are the specific techniques used to produce it. One of the aspects that more than anything enhances the typicalness of this "queen of apples" is the way the apples are left on the ground in the apple field to redden. The Annurca is mostly green when harvested and its characteristic red colour is the result of the sun s rays and the able liands that periodically turn the apples laid out on specially prepared terrain, exposing the green part of the fruit to the sun little by little. This treatment can last from 20-50 days. In ancient times the Annurca apples were arranged on "cannutoli", layers of hemp, that now have been replaced with other materials such as pine needles or, more often, wood shavings. The apple fields are also protected with anti-hailstone nets which also provide shade, to protect the fruit from direct sunliglit that would damage it irreversibly.

The Annurca is good as well as healthy, being rich in interesting dietetic and nutritional qualities: a veritable concentration of vitamins, organic acids and mineral elements, especially potassium and magnesium to help the organism function properly. There are many ways to eat this delicious fruit, as the main ingredient for ice creams, cakes and liqueurs.

Links naar recepten met Annurca :	Bron:
- Italian Stuffed Baked apples	- Home&Living

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